Waiting for wage growth

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Jobs are coming back, but workers haven't really seen paychecks beef up in response. In fact, wages this year are up only 2.1 percent -- only slightly above inflation and far below the 3 percent to 4 percent increase that's one hallmark of a healthy economy.

The median annual household income in October was just $53,713, according to Sentier Research. That's only a 1 percent increase from a year earlier, and a 3.7 percent rise from August 2011.

That slow growth is thought to be one of the main reasons the economy isn't doing better. There are some signs growth may be picking up, however. The November jobs report showed that average hourly wages rose by 0.4 percent. And while that might not seem like much of a leap on its face, consider that it's the largest monthly spike in wages in more than a year.